(CNN) - A Senate Democrat who could face a rough road to re-election is showing off his campaign cash.

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida raised around $2 million in the first three months of this year and has between $4.5 million to $5 million cash on hand, according to an email release Wednesday from his re-election campaign. Nelson had $3,083,493 in cash on hand as of the end of last year.
The two-term senator, who is up for re-election next year, got some help in his fundraising efforts this past quarter from the nation's top Democrat, President Barack Obama. The president teamed up with Nelson for two fundraising events in Miami Beach, Florida early last month.

Florida state Senate President Mike Haridopolos is running for the Republican Senate nomination. There's no word yet on what he brought in the first quarter of this year. But in February Haridopolos, who's considered a strong fundraiser, announced he locked in $1 million in contributions during a one day event in January.

Also running for the GOP nomination is former Sen. George LeMieux, who announced his bid last week. Former state Rep. Adam Hasner is expected to run, and has already announced an exploratory committee, which allows him to begin fundraising.

Two of the top non-partisan political handicappers consider the race competitive, with the Rothenberg Political Report characterizing the contest as "Toss-up/Tilt Democrat" and the Cook Political Report calling the race "Lean Democrat."

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released last week, 47 percent of Florida voters approved of the job Nelson's doing as senator, with 26 percent disapproving and 27 percent unsure. The same survey indicated that 43 percent of Sunshine state voters say Nelson deserves re-election, with 35 percent saying he does not deserve another term, and just over one in five unsure.

In a hypothetical general election matchup, the poll indicates that 43 percent would vote for Nelson, 39 percent for an unnamed GOP challenger, and 18 percent saying they were unsure or it depended on who would be the Republican nominee.

soundoff(9 Responses)

I gave to his campaign. Proud to have him as the only Senator that represents all Floridians.

April 13, 2011 04:42 pm at 4:42 pm |

Rickster

Nelson is a loon.

April 13, 2011 04:54 pm at 4:54 pm |

Sniffit

"If you can't set priorities then cut EVERYTHING x% until the budget is balanced. If they don't want to cut spending and raise taxes, then I suggest they look to the 50% of Americans who pay none. Too many deadbeats in this country and we can't afford it anymore."

You, sir, are a blatantly, yet proudly ignorant turd yammering talknig points for which you have so little understanding it's not even funny, let alone tolerable. Do you know how many working poor there are in this country? People who are working 2, sometimes 3 or more, jobs in order to make ends just barely meet with the help of consumer debt products? Do you know how the pverty line is calculated? Do you know what it does to a person's family if you expect them to pay $1000 in taxes out of the $18,000 they gross every year? And it's all because the extremely wealthy and corporate jackholes at the top believe that they are worth several million dollars, 4 vacations homes, 2 yachts, 6 cars, and a private helicopter to fly them to work past traffic, but the workers sweating in the trenches don't deserve to own 1 home, 1 car, 1 educated child, 1 heatlh insurance plan, etc., let alone just 1 job. You and the rest of the middle-class Teabagging crowd are the traitors in the only real Civil War that's been taking place for the past several decades: the war on the middle-class and poor, led by the GOP, conservative "think" tanks, corporate money and the extremely wealthy. Take take take and help them take it all you want, but eventually, there will be nothing left to take except the beatings we deliver in the public square, Robespierre-style, once we've had enough of it. Don't fool yourself into believing that acting as their toady will earn you a place in their heirarchy in the plutocracy to come...you're jsut a useful tool they'd just as soon use up and throw away like the rest of us.

April 13, 2011 05:04 pm at 5:04 pm |

Dozer97

I have a budgetary suggestion... Let's get rid of all these re-election campaigns and have the DNC, RNC, Unions, lobbyists, special intrests,etc put their fundraising efforts towards the national debt? I bet with the millions of dollars being tossed around every time a new bill comes up or an election cycle occurs we could get a handle on our national problems quite quickly.

April 13, 2011 05:32 pm at 5:32 pm |

T'sah from Virginia

Taking Polls this early is a JOKE!!!

April 13, 2011 05:34 pm at 5:34 pm |

gt

give it a rest old man... your job is not for life.... new blood ... the senate is for the most part full of old men and women... it looks like a retirement home for old fat people..

April 13, 2011 05:48 pm at 5:48 pm |

Former Republican, now an Independent

If the average American hopes to hold on to anything they have, they better be funding anyone running against these current day neo-con fanatics that have taken over my former party!

April 13, 2011 06:35 pm at 6:35 pm |

Albo58

Like most Florida taxPAYERS, I'll crawl naked through broken glass to vote against this Dimwit rubber-stamp! Nelson is the poster child of exactly what's wrong with Washington!

April 13, 2011 07:06 pm at 7:06 pm |

w l jones

We have a man with space experience which is a good thing for our country in this time and age. Sooner are later we going to have make serious plan for our kind suvival to go to another planet, Senator Nelson have insight in those area.